A shy reclusive lady is convinced by an invisible entity to sing. Subsequently, she finds herself noticed by a sleazy talent agent and her talent being showcased on-stage. She also meets a kind but nervous man who becomes her best friend.

In London, twenty-seven year-old hairdresser Rita decides to complete her basic education before having children as desired by her husband Denny. She joins a literature course in an open ... See full summary »

Storyline

The pathetically shy LV lives the life of a recluse listening to her late father's old records in her room and in the process driving her abusive, loud-mouthed mother, Mari Hoff, to distraction. At night, however, when her father's ghost visits, LV sings the songs of the great divas such as Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Bassey. One evening LV is overheard by one of her mother's loathsome boyfriends, the disastrous dead-end talent scout Ray Say, who recognizes her innate talent and realizes this is his last big chance for the glittering prizes. Gambling everything Ray Say forces LV to appear at a local run-down, seedy night club run by Mr. Boo. As preparations for the big event proceed apace LV meets the equally shy Billy, a pigeon-racing telephone engineer and they form a tentative, gentle friendship. The big night finally arrives and everything is in readiness, the band, the club and even a big agent from London, but what about LV?Written by
Mark Smith <msmith@osi.co.uk>

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Trivia

Goofs

The character played by Michael Caine during a conversation with Jane Horrocks' character, when naming the famous people he had met in the past, called Matt Monro the singing bus "conductor", when in fact it is well known that Matt Monro was a bus "driver" before he became famous. See more »

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User Reviews

At the risk of sounding overly sentimental, this is perhaps one of the most touching films I have ever seen, and also one of the most surprising.

Jane Horrocks, Michael Caine and Ewan McGregor all turn in superb performances, with Brenda Blethyn being a tad melodramatic but remaining within the bounds of believability. It's a real pleasure to see Michael Caine in particular, in a role of a shoddy, second-rate agent who believes he's found his passport to 'the big time' in LV. That man is such a great actor.

Bypassing Jane Horrocks' astounding ability to mimic people, it's also a pleasure to see her on the big screen again: she does a heck of a lot of voice work, but to be honest I haven't seen her in a major role since 'Life Is Sweet'. She's a real star and can play demented, disordered, deranged or simply different people with such style...

As for 'Little Voice', the story is a fairly standard setup: unbearably shy LV has a talent, is discovered by the local agent, the road to riches and stardom opens... but love is in the offing, so which will she choose? That summary, however, is where the similarity to virtually any other 'standard' setup stops: LV does not want stardom. She doesn't even really know she has her talent, which is completely passive. Her choice is not between stardom or love.

Virtually nothing beyond the basic storyline is 'standard' here. There's no "*gasp* Wow!" surprises, but events turn in quite unexpected directions at all times. Many folks even complain at the end because "it isn't an end" or "it isn't what we want". That's another reason to love the film: it doesn't give the viewer a Hollywood (yawn) ending. It doesn't tie up all the loose strings.

It's like life: there's no tidy endings. Look past the obvious images and look at what's underneath. See the film for what it is, and enjoy.

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